1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile body which moves autonomously.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an autonomous mobile body which autonomously moves to a destination is known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-288930 describes an autonomous mobile body which detects an obstacle using a laser range finder, and autonomously moves while avoiding interference with the detected obstacle. Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H9-185412 describes an autonomous mobile body which determines, when an obstacle is detected forward in the traveling direction by an ultrasonic sensor, that the obstacle is a person when there is an output from an infrared sensor. This autonomous mobile body stops when it is determined that the obstacle is a person, and stands by for a given period of time in anticipation of that person getting out of the way.
With the autonomous mobile body described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H9-185412, even in cases where it is determined that the obstacle is a person and the autonomous mobile body stops, that person will not be able to move around the autonomous mobile body unless the passage has enough clearance for the person and the autonomous mobile body to pass each other. Thus, with the autonomous mobile body described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H9-185412, when an obstacle is detected, a case may be considered in which the autonomous mobile body retreats backward and moves to a retreat path. Nevertheless, in the foregoing case, if the autonomous mobile body retreats even in cases where the autonomous mobile body and the obstacle can pass each other within the passage, it will take more time to reach the destination. Accordingly, the optimal action to be taken by the autonomous mobile body for avoiding interference with an obstacle will differ depending on the situation.